happy publication day (don’t burst my bubble!)

TODAY IS BE NICE TO MARGARET DAY; please mark it on your calendars, because my “new” life (which usually only Jack the Demon Cat, the frogboys, birds and the occasional snake bear witness to) is now flapping in the breeze. Out there. Appearing in a bookstore near you. The scoop on the birth of “And I Shall Have Some Peace There” is right here on the book blog. Or just go buy a copy, won’t you? :)

Having completely failed to win an early copy in your give-aways, I have had to WAIT, but I have now finally ordered a copy from amazon. After 20+ years in the UK civil service, I was never brave enough to do what you did, but a painful condition forced me to leave. My garden, art, books and an inner life are now my world. I love seeing into yours. Thank you for your blog and your book.

You came to work with me today. You are currently sitting on my shelf in my office. I keep sneaking quick paragraphs here and there. I am loving it. My fear is never dying alone but that I will be judged for not looking after myself better if I died young. Thought I would share. Back to reading now!

Congrats Margaret on the publication of your new book! How very exciting! I have just ordered it. Can’t wait to read it. Will put it in my pile next to my bed in the queue just below the new Julia book. Found you (finally) via Matt’s blog via Food News Journal. Will explore your site and blog. Thank you for doing it!
My very best from western Massachusetts.
Kristin

Big welcomes to Cynthia (nice to hear you can hardly wait to start reading it!) and Missy (never disobey Josh and Brent; good thinking!) and Kristin (isn’t Matt wonderful?). Nice to meet you all; don’t be strangers.

I work with people in transition – one job to the next on an involuntary basis, for the most part. I shall recommend they read your book. It’s all about managing the change, the attitude you bring, the belief that somehow it will all work out [not necessarily the way you planned], and that it takes some focus and effort to move forward. Thanks for writing about your journey – – – so I guess it means you had best start working on the next book ‘cuz the journey isn’t quite over, m’dear.

Kudos on your newest book. Your truthful depictions of a gardener, new to full-time rural life, kept me turning the pages. Country gardens have their challenges, but the rewards are sooooo sweet. Your website, book, and suggestions (I’ve already ordered Rosemary willows from Forest Farm and am searching for places to put in Ogon spireas) have been added to my garden reference favorites. Always great to find sources of inspiration. Thanks for letting me through your “peaceful” garden’s gate.

After highlighting most of the article about you in More magazine (Peace, Incorporated), I ordered your book today! Thank you for being willing to share the good, bad an ugly with us. I am right at the juncture of making the change from 16 hours days as a trial paralegal to finishing my Ph.D. and teaching at the university. Your article gave me courage and validation. Debi

Welcome, Debi, and congratulations on preparing the way for the next phase. It took me a year of active planning to be able to start this (after decades of dreaming, of course) and there are still hiccups, but it’s worth it every time I look out the window, or see a bird or the great light of the late afternoon. Kudos to you!

Reading your book, and love it, love it, love it! It could have been written for me or about me – the birds, the stress of a corporate job, the peace I now find in solitude. The one truly mindful thing I do is garden, I’m already starting to rake and poke at things with my shovel whenever the Utah snows allow me to see the ground. Congratulations to you, and may you see your first crocus soon! Terry

Margaret, you are very brave to share your journey. I love your book and am especially appreciating the thinking vs. feeling puzzle. It’s a puzzle for me, anyway! I’ve been enjoying both A Way to Garden and The Sisterhood Project since last summer. Book and blogs are informative and inspiring on many levels – thank you!

I was introduced to you and your book two days ago on Matt’s site, MattBites, in his interview with you. I’m about halfway through the book and am having a very hard time putting it down. Must eat, must sleep! Like many, I am intrigued and inspired by your journey and your grace in observing the nourishing moments. But I have to say I am equally inspired by your writing. While reading the book, I repeatedly turned to my husband and read sections out loud. (He is an architect and we had just spent the day furthering our own rehab project painting the exterior of our house. So your description of your house buried under its layers and layers struck a chord with us.) I had to put the book down long enough to say thank you for such an open-hearted and beautifully written book. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is a treasure.

Every day should be kind to Margaret day! Just finished the book and I absolutely love it in every way. I believe the few nay-sayers that have reviewed you just didn’t get you or what it is you are doing there. They have pigeon-holed you as property of Martha Stewart, when obviously, that was just a portion of your whole self. I just posed a review, and I am on all my friends to read and post reviews. There is a big piece of my soul that has always wanted a simple small house in the country with no curtains, no frills. I lost my partner 2 years ago, and have been teetering on retiring and moving to a house in the country, but I have a bad back, and my can’t list was getting longer than my Can list. This book slapped me on the forehead. I though, “I can do container gardening, and I can afford to have other things done for me. I do love to garden, and my back hinders me but it need not prevent me.
Thanks Margaret for this little GEM of a book. Now I am off to whip my friends into shape, like my friend did me, so you will write and write and write! LOVED it.
Kevbo (Kevin in Dallas)

@Kevbo: Well! That’s about the nicest thing anyone has ever said, thank you. And thank you for understanding about the nay-sayers and the importance of helping spread the positive vibes. Much appreciated.

As for the woo-woo music: It is music made for use as sound effects, not from an album to my knowledge. It is called “Bombay Beach 2” by Mark Johns and Andy Ward, and is “synth pads under dulcimer pattern.” Go figure. :)

Garden Chores

March 1, 2015

an if-and-when month

BEST MARCH GARDEN ADVICE: Make like a daffodil. Poke your head up and have a look around—but be prepared to abort the mission, perhaps several times, and even get snowed on. Be nimble, ready to act of and when the forces are willing, but be patient, too, especially up North. The March chores.

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March 9, 2015

when to start seed

WHEN TO START WHAT? My seed calculator tool will help time sowings properly, no matter where you live. Don’t rush. Stout, sturdy seedlings are better than older, leggy ones for transplanting. For perspective: I don’t start tomatoes here in Zone 5B until mid-April.

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March 11, 2015

water-garden care

MUCK OUT water gardens of fallen debris at the earliest opportunity, using a net. Watch for tadpoles and salamanders and egg masses in every heap. When the weather settles, remove floating de-icers, and get pumps and filters going, following all my spring water-garden tips.

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March 17, 2015

perennial cutbacks

I CUT DOWN faded ornamental grasses before they sprout anew, and leaves of earliest bloomers like epimediums, or things that emerge fast and would prevent easy cutback, like tall sedums. Cut back evergreen groundcovers that push new leaves soon, including epimedium, hellebores, European ginger.

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March 20, 2015

peas and spinach?

I SOW PEAS (these are some varieties I love) and spinach around mid-March outdoors, if the soil allows. Some gardeners say to do it when the peepers first peep. I hope I get them in no later than the end of the first week in April, so they don’t bump too hard into summer heat at harvest time.

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March 25, 2015

pruning, pruning

I’LL FINISH fruit-tree pruning (here’s how), and start on twig willows and dogwoods, and this month or next some clematis, most roses, buddleia, Hydrangea paniculata and more. My pruning FAQ is here. Remember that if you prune early bloomers such as lilacs now, you’ll have fewer spring flowers; maybe wait until just after bloom.